Comments on: The Exodus of Health Personnel

By: Monkoman

Monkoman — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:19:51 +0000

oh yeah, a bit on retention scheme, its more a scam, the cars are SECOND hand and OLD, and the docs get them on LOANS that they have to pay out of their SMALL SALARIES. further training abroad DOES NOT EXIST, its sporadic and frought with corruption and nepotism. Guys studying abroad anywhere have to SPONSER THEMSELVES.
Secondly its REALLY HARD to get out of zambia even if your a proffessional (in any field), one has to try VERY hard, so these guys are SUPER FRUSTRATED who manage to run away.
Thirdly zambia wont develop without a RADICAL CHANGE in approaching this whole problem. Like ndapapa ine said, GO RESEAERCH the problem, you wanna really know WHAT IT TAKES to SOLVE???? Usobela mwana…

By: zediano

zediano — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:09:25 +0000

Its because people like Henry and their thinking that people run away from zambia. you want to TAX people working abroad? So more money is poured into an already inefficient government, hard earned money? NO WAY my brother! youve got such large b a l l s . And increase training years? How old are you henry? did you finish secondary school? Why not make it like burma or some other dictatorship where by we just shoot the doctors if they try to run away, the rest will fear and stay and everyone will beneffit right? thats your brand of thinking you s t u p i d i d i o t .

By: Timosheko.

Timosheko. — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:35:37 +0000

it is very depressing to work in Zambia with the salaries our government offers,it has led to many civil servants being plunderers.

By: Kamwendo

Kamwendo — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:59:44 +0000

…..fuel the desire to come back home, as home will always be home, whether stripped of our citizenship or not!

Together we can build a better place we call home!!!

By: Kamwendo

Kamwendo — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:57:44 +0000

Kyambalesa, for all the yrs you spent abroad, one would expect a better analyses when coming to the solutions.

What is required is as follows:
A] Stop hounding citizens, remove 5yr resident clause allowing one to stand for president!!
B] Designate a dept in the Trade ministry dedicated to helping citizens abroad to invest – cutting out useless red-tape
C] Be adventurous & innovative, introduce a tax rebate for companies set-up via this scheme, e.g for first 2 yr if it employs 20, etc etc
D] Incentives, such as reserved land in the new tax free zones for investorsin the scheme
E] A board of representatives to run the scheme with the ministry.

Remember, Rome was not built in a day, small incentives over time, will slowly win confidence of the diaspora to look back at home &…

By: Kamwendo

Kamwendo — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:18:38 +0000

…to stay on such registers. These Govts have schemes in place encouraging HOMEWARD INVESTMENTS!! What we shud learn once & for all, is that, FORCING PEOPLE DOESN’T WORK!!
PERSUATION is what works. Take BONUSES which brought the world economy to its knees, This was Money persuasion/incentive for bankers to promote & drive schemes that were unsustainable, & didn’t they do the job so well!! Even today inspite of all the talk, NO ONE HAS BANNED THE BONUSES!
To improve zambia, attract home grown investment in whatever form, this will generate jobs, even if I employed 2 of my relatives in a small business, I would pay tax & my employees would pay tax too, that’s whats called widening the tax base!! This is how govt would earn it’s income, NOT BY STEALING MY HARD EARNED DOSH OUT HERE!!!!

By: Kamwendo

Kamwendo — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:08:28 +0000

…treatment for DYSENTRY & other simple ailments, does one honestly think this instills confidence in the medical professionals?? I commend Mubanga Kashoki, who REFUSED to be Evacuated, BUT OPTED for EQUIPMENT to be bought for his BRAIN OPERATION – that wasn’t just a stunt, it shows
1] TRUST & CONFIDENCE 2] That EQUIPMENT IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR EVERY ZAMBIAN!!! – it speaks VOLUMES of the man, that in his hour of suffering, he still had a heart & forethought for his beloved mother land – has any politician stepped up to the plate, except for KK, who had established a presidential annexe at UTH.

There are many counties in todays world whose income is solely dependent on their workforce abroad, they DON@T victimise their citizens, they ENCOURAGE them & register them for a small token fee…

By: Kamwendo

Kamwendo — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:58:33 +0000

The author identifies the problems well. He however loses himself when it comes to solutions.
He has to realise that foreign states will only acquiess to treaties that are in their interest, & the west generally respects individual human rights. So if I pay tax in that country, there is no way that I’ll be paying tax in another. This is short sightedness of politicians. Value to a country comes in form of remittances we make back home – whom we remit to is our business. politicians shud keep their dirty fingers out of it! I’m medical, i worked for a good 5yrs after my MD, was treated like crap, late pay, long hours, minimal opportunities – thus paid back to the country those 5 yrs. When Leaders MISUSE the SPECIALIST EVACUATION created for when we had no local experts, to go to SA for…

By: Kamanga

Kamanga — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:17:25 +0000

Globalisation applies to skilled workers as well. Government spends significant amounts of money training people only to let them go. HR practices need to be improved, you can’t treat ‘knowledge workers’ like labourers, guys have choices and will vote with their feet. wake up! What stops African Govts ‘poaching’ westerners on say one/two year voluntary assignments? Its not money we offer but meeting desires they have to ‘make a difference’ in poorer nations. Most people practice medicine because they care, govt must get this, only in Africa they use it to exploit their doctors. Govt can exploit this desire in westernenrs by providing facilities to attact such people. Do conferences in the west, see how many volunteers you’ll get. Israel has Kibutz, what do we have

By: msq78

msq78 — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:20:41 +0000

health workers retention scheme. we here this phrase time and time again from the mouths of our politicians but yet, the exodus of this cadre of citizens continues.
questions that need to be answered, maybe your research expertize can help shed light of these Henry
1. is this just political rethoric and this incentive does not exist
2. or if it does, is it as rosy as it sounds
3. what percentage of the health workers are actually benefiting from the said scheme